The Skinny: Vancouver 5, Isles 4 (SO)

"The Skinny"          

By Eric Hornick

Game 68

Vancouver 5, Isles 4 (SO)

Brock Nelson's second goal of the game forced overtime, but JT Miller scored the only goal of the shootout as the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Islanders 5-4 before a sellout crowd of 18,871 at Rogers Arena. 

The game was within one goal throughout; Andrew Ladd's first goal since October 30, 2018 gave the Isles their only lead but the Isles would rally three other times to get even. 

The loss earned the Isles their second point in two games but extended the winless streak to seven games (0-3-4).  It's the first time since February/March 2018 (8 games) that the Isles have gone at least five games without a win.

It's the Isles' 80th point, which leaves them one point behind both Carolina and Columbus for one of the two wild card spots.  Carolina and the Isles each have 14 games to play while Columbus has 12. 

The Scoring:

1st Period

Andrew Ladd (1) Josh Bailey (29), Nick Leddy (18) 01:36 NYI 1,VAN 0

Adam Gaudette (12) Alexander Edler (27), Troy Stecher (12) 01:57 NYI 1,VAN 1

Tyler Toffoli (24) Elias Pettersson (39), Quinn Hughes (45) 02:41 NYI 1,VAN 2

Jordan Eberle (16) Mathew Barzal (41), Anders Lee (23) 19:01 NYI 2,VAN 2

2nd Period

Zack MacEwen (5) Alexander Edler (28) 02:14 NYI 2,VAN 3

Brock Nelson (25) Derick Brassard (21), Noah Dobson (6) 17:00 NYI 3,VAN 3

Bo Horvat (22) Tyler Toffoli (20), J.T. Miller (45) 17:51 NYI 3,VAN 4 PPG 

3rd Period

Brock Nelson (26) Anthony Beauvillier (21), Derick Brassard (22) 04:32 NYI 4,VAN 4

OT

No Scoring

The Shootout

Elias Pettersson (NG) – Jordan Eberle (NG)

JT Miller (G/GDG) – Mathew Barzal (NG)

Brock Boeser (NG) – Andrew Ladd (NG)

The Isles are 3-3 in the shootout this season; Semyon Varlamov is 2-2… It was the third game-deciding goal of JT Miller's career…The Isles fall to 82-67 all-time in overtime.

The Skinny        

The Isles are 6-8-5 since the All-Star Break (and only 1-6-2 on the road); they have scored 41 goals in the eleven games that they earned points but only eight goals in their eight regulation losses… Mathew Barzal recorded an assist for the sixth straight game against Vancouver for his 60th point; he is the 2nd-youngest Islander to have three seasons with 60+ points, joining Bryan Trottier… …Noah Dobson has assists in consecutive games…Andrew Ladd's goal was his 249th in the NHL and came in his 950th NHL game; he finished with nine hits (tied-2nd highest total in his career)…Brock Nelson's two goals make him 26-28-54 in his career; it ties his career high in goals and sets a new career high in points. His second goal was the 150th of his career; he is only the 17th Isle to record 150 goals…Anthony Beauvillier played a career-high 22:02; Ryan Pulock played a season-high 26:31…The Isles allowed at least goal for the seventh straight game (0-3-4)…Tyler Toffoli had a pair of points, giving him 300 in his career (including 6-5-11 in 14 games vs. the Isles; Alex Edler also had a pair, giving him 401…The Isles have allowed 27 goals in the last seven games and have not had a .900 save percentage in any of them; the team save percentage in that span is .870…The Isles are 1-7 in their last eight games to go beyond regulation (1-5 in overtime,  0-2 in shootouts)…Jordan Eberle has 21 career goals vs. Vancouver; among active players only Patrick Marleau (30) has more.

The Injury

Josh Bailey suffered an injury late in the first period and did not return.  This was Josh's 153rd consecutive game.

First Times in a Long Time

• The Isles finished with 49 shots. It's their most in a road game since November 1, 2013 in Ottawa (57) and their most EVER in a game against Vancouver (previous high 48 on January 17, 2016 in Brooklyn).

• The Isle trailed 2-1 just 2:41 into play; it was the earliest three goals in an Islander game since October 26, 2002 vs. Philadelphia.

Last Season vs. This Season

The Isles are 35-23-10 thru 68 games this season; they were 39-22-7 thru 68 games last season.  Their 80 points in 68 games is the 4th-highest in the Post-Cup era (90 points in 2014-15, 85 points last season and 85 points in 2015-16).

It's Good to be Home(s)

The Isles are playing 28 of their 41 home games this season at the Coliseum.  The Isles are 13-8-3 on Coliseum ice where they have sold out seven of the last eight games (and ten games this season).  The Isles are 7-1-3 at Barclays Center this season and 12-1-3 in their last 16 regular season home games); the final Brooklyn games are on March 17th vs. Calgary and March 22nd vs. Carolina.

On the Road

The Isles are 15-14-4 on the road this season but are only 3-8-3 in the last 14 games.

Road to the Playoffs

The Isles are beginning a stretch in which they play nine of 12 on the road.  They are 0-0-1 in this stretch:

• 3/10 @ Canucks (L 4-5 SO)

• 3/12 @ Flames

• 3/13 @ Oilers

• 3/15 @ Penguins

• 3/17 Vs. Flames (Barclays)

• 3/19 @ Leafs

• 3/21 @ Devils

• 3/22 Vs. Hurricanes (Final Barclays Game)

• 3/24 @ Flyers

• 3/26 Vs. Sabres (Coliseum)

• 3/28 @ Canadiens

• 3/30 @ Blue Jackets

The final three games will then be at the Coliseum (3/31 Vs. Wild, 4/2 Vs. Blackhawks, 4/4 Vs. Devils)

Coach Trotz

Barry Trotz is second among active coaches, trailing only Joel Quenneville, in both wins and games. Trotz' NHL record is 845-618-60-151 in 1,674 games, and he is now five wins shy of supplanting Ken Hitchcock as the 3rd-winningest coach in NHL history.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  925

3. Ken Hitchcock    849

4. Barry Trotz    845

5. Al Arbour    782

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,705

3. Barry Trotz        1,674

4. Al Arbour 1,607

First Things First

The Isles are 23-8-5 when scoring first and are 12-15-5 when allowing the opening goal. The Isles are 6-1-2 in the last nine games they have scored first but are 1-9-4 in the last 14 games that they have allowed the opening goal.

The Shots

Isles    18-11-16-4=49

Vancouver 14-14-5-1=34

The Isles are 13-8-6 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 22-14-4 when they are outshot.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 53-25-9 when outshot; the 53 wins are the most in the NHL.

Home and Road

The Islanders are 35-23-10 overall: 20-9-6 at home (13-8-3 on Long Island and 7-1-3 in Brooklyn) and 15-14-4 on the road.  

Vancouver is 36-27-6 overall: 22-9-4 at home and 14-18-2 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 11-7-4 in Division games and 24-16-6 in games versus other divisions.  The Isles are 25-13-5 against the East and 10-10-5 against the West.  

In the Nets

Semyon Varlamov made 30 saves; he is 19-14-6 on the season and 7-11-2 in his career against Vancouver.  

Thatcher Demko made 45 saves; he is 13-10-2 on the season and 1-0-0 against the Isles.   

Power Plays

The Isles were 0-3 in 5:24 of power play time (including a :36 5-on-3).  Vancouver was 1-2 in 2:12 of power play time. 

The Isles are 13-7-3 when they score at least one power play goal and 22-16-7 when they do not.  The Isles are 14-9-4 when they allow at least one power play goal and 21-14-6 when they do not.

The Isles are 7-9-6 when they have more power plays than the opposition, 4-6-0 when the power plays are even, and 24-9-3 when the opposition has more power plays.

First 2 / Last 2   

The Isles have scored 16 goals and allowed 15 goals in the first two minutes of regulation periods.

The Isles have scored 15 goals and allowed 20 goals (excluding ENGs) in the last two minutes of regulation periods. 

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 31-3-5 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 4-20-5 when they do not.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 67-5-7 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 16-7-10 in games decided by a single goal including 5-7 in regulation. They are 8-7 in games decided in overtime and are 3-3 in shootouts.  The Isles are 5-3 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Tired vs. Rested 

• The Isles are 3-0-0 when both teams played the night before. 

• The Isles are 7-1-0 when they are rested, and their opponents are not. 

• The Isles are 3-1-1 when their opponents are rested, and the Isles are not.

• The Isles are 22-21-9 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Ryan Pulock (26:31 – 2nd highest of career); Vancouver: Alex Edler (25:07)

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 22:58 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leader: Ryan Pulock (13-8-5), Devon Toews (3-6-2), Nick Leddy (5-3-3), Adam Pelech (9-2-0), Mathew Barzal (2-3-0), Scott Mayfield (2-1-0), Brock Nelson (1-0-0).

Highest Ice-Time by Isles Forwards Under Trotz

• 24:59 -  Mathew Barzal – 2/19/20 vs. COL(Career High)

• 24:35 -  Mathew Barzal – 2/17/20 vs. ARI

• 24:35 - Brock Nelson – 11/9/19 vs. FLA (Career High)

• 24:02 – Mathew Barzal – 2/25/20 vs. NYR 

• 24:01 - Jordan Eberle – 2/17/20 vs. ARI (Most with Isles)

Face-offs

Isles 31, Vancouver 33 (48%)

Brock Nelson won 11 of 21 for the Isles; JT Miller won 12 of 17 for Vancouver. 

Hit Count

Isles 38 (Andrew Ladd -9)

Vancouver 36 (Tyler Motte-8)

The Isles are 2nd in the NHL with 1,925 hits.

 

Fights 

There were no fights.  Season total:17 – Johnston-6 (vs. FLA, vs PHL, vs TB, vs NYR, vs WAS, vs VGK), Cizikas-3 (vs. OTT, vs SJ, vs. LA), Lee-3 (vs FLA, vs VGK, vs MON), Martin-2 (vs NYR, vs NAS), Mayfield (vs ANA), Pageau (vs NYR), Dzingel (vs. CAR).

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 11 (Leo Komarov -3)

Vancouver 17 (Alex Edler -4)

The Isles lead the NHL with 1,153 blocked shots.

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 79, Vancouver 67 (including 31-13 for the Isles in the 3rd period and overtime)

Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 57, Vancouver 57

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Mathew Barzal and Jordan Eberle +8

Vancouver: Two with +9

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 19, Vancouver 13

5-on-5: Isles 14, Vancouver 12

Back-to-Backs

The Isles are 5-3-0 in the front-half and 6-1-1 in the back-half. The next back-to-back will be March 12th in Calgary and March 13th in Edmonton. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 17-2-2 in back-ends.

Night and Day

The Isles are 31-20-7 in night games and 4-3-3 in matinees. All of the remaining games, including the 3/15 (6:00) and 3/22 (5:00) games are considered night games by the NHL.

200 Game Club

The Isles have three players who have active consecutive game streaks of at least 200 games, and they are three of just 25 players in the NHL who have played every game since the start of the 2017-18 season.  It's the first time since November 25, 1978 that the Isles have had three players with streaks of at least 200 games.

Ironman Streaks: Anders Lee 268, Brock Nelson 245, Mathew Barzal 232, Ryan Pulock 195, Josh Bailey 153, Anthony Beauvillier 143, and Devon Toews 116.  No other Islander has played every game this season.

Iron Man

Anders Lee has the fourth-longest consecutive game streak while Brock Nelson and Mathew Barzal have also moved into the top 10:

1. Billy Harris 10/7/1972 -11/30/1979 576 (*)

2. Bobby Nystrom 1/7/1975 - 11/25/1978 301

3. Matt Moulson 10/3/2009 - 4/4/2013 284

4. Anders Lee 1/26/2017 – CURRENT 268

5. Denis Potvin 11/29/1975 - 1/17/1979 262

6. John Tavares 10/16/2010 - 12/23/2013 246

7. Brock Nelson 3/16/2017 – CURRENT 245

8. J.P. Parise 1/7/1975 – 1/7/1978 240 (**)

9. Mathew Barzal 10/6/2017- CURRENT 232

10. Richard Park 10/5/2006 - 2/18/2009 221

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Iron D

Ryan Pulock has the fourth-longest consecutive game streak of any defenseman in Islander history: 

1. Denis Potvin 11/29/1975-1/17/1979 262

2. Bryan McCabe 10/7/1995-2/4/1998 220 (*) (**)

3. Gerry Hart 3/1/1975-11/22/1977 198

4. Ryan Pulock 12/29/2017 – CURRENT 195

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Scratches

(Adam Pelech-INJ), (Casey Cizikas-INJ), (Johnny Boychuk- INJ), Ross Johnston, Tom Kuhnhackl, Michael Dal Colle, Otto Koivula, Thomas Hickey

Total games lost: 159.

Late Heroes 

The Isles have scored five times in the final two minutes of regulation to either tie or take the lead:

10/14 vs. STL – Mathew Barzal scored at 19:33 and the Isles won in OT.

11/19 @ PIT – Ryan Pulock scored at 18:38 and the Isles won in OT.

2/1 vs VAN – Brock Nelson scored at 19:34, but the Isles lost in OT.

2/11 vs PHI – Ryan Pulock scored the winning goal at 19:19.

2/26 vs NYR – Brock Nelson scored at 19:42, but the Isles lost in OT

Late Goals Allowed

The Isles have allowed five goals in the final two minutes of regulation to either tie or win a game:

11/21 vs. PIT – Patric Hornqvist scored at 19:30, but the Isles won in OT.

12/14 vs. BUF -Jack Eichel scored at 18:14, but the Isles won in OT. 

1/16 vs. NYR- Chris Kreider scored the winning goal at 19:35.

2/11 vs. PHI – Sean Couturier scored at 18:28, but the Isles won in regulation.

2/27 vs. STL – Vince Dunn scored at 18:16, and the Blues won in OT.

Challenges

Isles: 4 successful, 2 failures (offside-11/19 vs. PIT), (offside-12/9 vs. TBL), (no goalie Interference 12/21 vs, ANA), (offside-1/6 vs. COL), (offside 1/21 vs NYR), (no goalie interference 2/25 vs NYR)

The Isles are 4-0-0 in games that they are successful and 0-0-2 in games that they are unsuccessful.

Opponents: 4 successful, 3 failures (Nelson-kick 10/8 vs. EDM), (Lee- no high stick 11/1 vs. TB), (Cizikas- no goalie interference 11/23 vs. SJ), (Komarov-goalie interference 1/2 vs. NJ),(no offside 1/18 vs WSH), (Lee-goalie interference 2/4 vs. DAL), (offside- 2/9 vs TBL)

The Isles are 1-1-1 in games where opponents' challenges go their way and 1-3-0 in games that go the opponent's way.

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1060 *** 3. Bob Nystrom 900 *** 4. Clark Gillies 872 *** 

5.  Josh Bailey 865…

17. John Tonelli 594 *** 18. Matt Martin 560 *** 19. Ken Morrow 550 *** 20. Brock Nelson 548 *** 21. Duane Sutter 547 *** 22. Lorne Henning 543 ***  23. Claude Lapointe 535 *** 24. Casey Cizikas 534

Goals

1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 …

12. Billy Harris 184 *** 13. Anders Lee 172 *** 14. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 15. Patrick Flatley 160 *** 16. Josh Bailey 154 *** 17. Brock Nelson 150

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553…

6.  John Tonelli 338 *** 7. Pat Flatley 328 *** 8. Brent Sutter 323 *** 9. Josh Bailey 322 …

20. Ed Westfall 181 *** 21. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 22. Duane Sutter and Alexei Yashin 171*** 24. Nick Leddy 169

Points

1. Bryan Trottier 1353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1052…

11. Derek King 499 *** 12. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 13. Josh Bailey 476…

20. Ziggy Palffy 331 ***  21. Anders Lee 301  ***22. Mariusz Czerkawski and Brock Nelson 295

Games Played (Goalies)

1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Glenn Resch 282 *** 4. Kelly Hrudey 241 ***

5. Thomas Greiss 193

Wins (Goalie)

1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Rick DiPietro 130*** 4. Kelly Hrudey 108***

5.   Thomas Greiss 101

Shutouts (Goalie)

1. Glenn Resch 25 *** 2. Billy Smith 22 *** 3. Rick DiPietro 16 *** 4. Tommy Salo 14***

5. Jaroslav Halak 12 *** 6.  Thomas Greiss 10

Games Coached 

1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Mike Milbury 192 …

6. Peter Laviolette 164 *** 7. Ted Nolan 163 *** 8. Butch Goring 154 *** 9. Barry Trotz 150

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 82

Season Series Stats

Vancouver wins the season series 2 games to 0 (and four points to two).

The Canucks won both games beyond 60 minutes as Quinn Hughes' overtime goal was the game-winner in the Isles' first game after the All-Star Break.

The Isles are 6-0-4 in the last ten games with Vancouver and are 3-0-2 in their last five trips to the Pacific Northwest.

On the Farm   

Bridgeport improved to 22-33-5-2 by winning two out of three in Pennsylvania last weekend, winning both games in Lehigh Valley and dropping the middle game in Wilkes Barre-Scranton.

The Sound Tigers are back home on Wednesday as they entertain the Toronto Marlies. 

Up Next

THURSDAY, MARCH 12th  -  ISLANDERS AT CALGARY –9:00 PM

[MSG+ (pre-game at 8:30PM), 88.7 WRHU-FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN-1050]

After not facing each other in the first 68 games, two of the Isles' next four games are against the Calgary Flames.

It's the second consecutive season that the entire season series will be played within a week. Calgary won both games last February,  by scores of 4-2 and 3-1.

 

Calgary has won four of the last five games between the teams, after the Isles won the five games before that.  The Isles' only win in the last five meetings was a 5-2 victory for Christopher Gibson on March 18, 2018.

Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since January 21, 1982. Information contained in "The Skinny" has been gathered from various sources.  Follow Eric @ehornick on Twitter & on his blog www.nyiskinny.com.

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since January 21, 1982. Visit my blog: NYISkinny.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick